“Counting calories made me fat”

This is what the mum-of-two, who used to obsess over every piece of food, looks like now.

Photo: Instagram@belinda.n.s

While at university Belinda Norton-Smith was in her prime. She was an elite athlete, completely focused on anything she could do to be better. She was a slave to science – counting calories, constantly having her blood sugar, vitamin and mineral levels tested, her body composition analysed and ensuring she slept enough.

“My mind became so obsessed with calculating every single piece of food and drink and assessing every training session of my effort - that was my undoing,” the 39-year-old mum-of-two tells myBody+Soul.

Photo: Instagram@belinda.n.sSource:BodyAndSoul

Belinda always carried her calorie book with her and was totally preoccupied with what she was eating, as well as what others were eating. It even got to the point where she started losing friends.

“I was beginning to think I had an eating disorder and I believe I almost did. My non- athlete friends dropped off and I hardly saw them (geee I wonder why?)”

Cue the reality check.

While she was in great shape, the triathlete believed her body had other ideas.

“I gained a lot of fluid under the skin. My body simply would not flush anything out. I did not change anything in my diet or training regime. I truly believe it was because I was so obsessed, that my body and mind backfired.”

“I never would recommend weighing yourself and I personally never have. However I noticed how my body felt and I felt extremely unhealthy in myself. I noticed the feeling in my clothing, the roll that I squashed into my jeans, and my chaffing thighs.”

It's hard to imagine now, given how lean the fitness professional is, but Belinda says it was enough for her to realise that her extreme approach wasn’t working.

Photo: Instagram@belinda.n.sSource:BodyAndSoul

Since then, Belinda’s philosophy has had a complete makeover. The woman who wouldn’t leave home without her calorie book, has farewelled the numbers game for good.

“By not counting calorie and macro-nutrients you are not going ‘blind’ about your body or about your nutrition. You are actually listening to your body, how it feels when food is consumed and how it functions afterward. You do not need to follow a plan of numbers,” she says.

Sure, you may thrive off your app or activity tracker that tells you everything from how much energy is in your smashed avo to how many minutes of boxing you need to do to burn off that pistachio gelato. But for Belinda, and many like her, there can be a dark side to information overload.